Commitments And Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Commitments And Contingencies

Commitments And Contingencies

NOTE J. Commitments and Contingencies

Legal actions. In addition to the legal action described below, the Company is a party to other proceedings and claims incidental to its business. While many of these matters involve inherent uncertainty, the Company believes that the amount of the liability, if any, ultimately incurred with respect to such other proceedings and claims will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated financial position as a whole or on its liquidity, capital resources or future annual results of operations. The Company will continue to evaluate its litigation on a quarter-by-quarter basis and will establish and adjust any litigation reserves as appropriate to reflect its assessment of the then current status of litigation.

Investigation by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (the "AOGCC"). During the second quarter of 2010, the AOGCC commenced an investigation into allegations by a former Pioneer employee regarding the Company's Oooguruk facility on the North Slope of Alaska. Among the allegations are claims that the Company did not have authorization to inject certain non-hazardous substances into its enhanced oil recovery well, that the Company mishandled disposal of waste products and that the Company's operating practices are harmful to the project's oil reservoirs. Upon initially becoming aware of the allegations, the Company informed the AOGCC and other relevant federal, state and local agencies and commenced its own investigation, which confirmed injections of non-hazardous fluids into the Oooguruk enhanced oil recovery well without prior authorizations to do so. The results of the Company's investigation were reported to the agencies. In December 2010, the AOGCC investigator submitted a report outlining its findings, which (i) found that the Company's operating practices have not harmed the project's oil reservoirs and (ii) raised certain regulatory compliance issues, all of which the Company previously reported or has since taken actions to remedy. Although the Company does not know at this time what action the AOGCC will take in response to the report, based on the facts as known to date, the Company believes that compliance with any order or other action of the AOGCC will not materially affect the Company's liquidity, financial position or future results of operations.

Obligations following divestitures. In April 2006, the Company provided the purchaser of its Argentine assets certain indemnifications. The Company remains responsible for certain contingent liabilities related to such indemnifications, subject to defined limitations, including matters of litigation, environmental contingencies, royalty obligations and income taxes. The Company has also retained certain liabilities and indemnified buyers for certain matters in connection with other divestitures, including the sale in 2007 of its Canadian assets and the February 2011 sale of Pioneer Tunisia. The Company does not believe that these obligations are probable of having a material impact on its liquidity, financial position or future results of operations.